Monthly Archives: December 2022

#CPChatNow Recap- 12/21/2022

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This past week in #CPChatNow not surprisingly centered around the holidays with members discussing favorite holiday movies and memories. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap. All aboard!

Members started the chat by talking about their favorite Christmas movies and music:

i ask what members favorite Christmas movie is and shared mine is christmas vacation with a picture of the Griswold house
zach tweets his favorite movie is the santa clause. i tweeted i watched that today. zach asks if people have a favorite christmas album and tweets his is the christmas album by neil diamond. i tweeted my favorite song is the christmas song by nat king cole. chris tweeted that is his as well.

Next, Zach asked about member’s favorite holiday memories. We reminisced about favorite memories with Santa Claus.

zach asked about fun holiday memories. i tweeted about how my family hired a santa claus zach tweeted about how dad played santa one christmas eve.
seth tweeted about the time he told santa he had bad breath. zach asked how he reacted. seth said he really couldn't react.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation-Question: What is your funniest holiday memory?

Extend-the-conversation graphic with #CPChatNow logo in upper right hand corner, what is your funniest holiday memory? and picture of christmas trees and a hanukkah menorah

My funniest holiday memory is asking Santa where his sleigh was parked at the bank. He pointed to the roof and I was straining desperately to see it. Please share your answers in the comments!

Thanks for reading and join us each Wednesday at 8 Eastern on #CPChatNow!

-Devin

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#CPChatNow Recap- 12-14-2022

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Wednesday after Wednesday people in the cerebral palsy (CP) community gather on Twitter for the live weekly chat #CPChatNow. To tell you all about the chat from Wednesday, December 14th, 2022, I am chat co-host Zachary Fenell. Let us get on with the recap!

An innate ability to understand each other remains one characteristic which has solidified our community. We showcased said understanding December 14th.

Timmy jokes about tripping on his way to the lab in the morning, but not spilling a drop of coffee.

Utilizing our hashtag, Timmy shared some humorous bad news and good news. The bad news, he tripped on his way to the lab in the morning. For the good news, Timmy revealed he did not spill a drop of his coffee! His comedic tweet received eight likes.

Transitioning to a more serious note, Stephen sparked dialogue with a question.

#CPChatNow participants answer Stephen's question, "What is the one thing that you (are) proud of this year?"

Stephen asked the chat, “What is the one thing you (are) proud of this year?” Veronica answered, “My youngest graduated from ASU.” Meanwhile, I stated, “The release of Slow and Cerebral, and the five five-star reviews Amazon readers have given the book.” Replying himself, Stephen shared his pride for, “going back to the exceptional foundation and my involvement in CPChatNow.”

As the night continued, discussion turned to seeing differences positively.

Participants in #CPChatNow discuss how being different has been a good thing for them.

Admittedly, I brought up the topic when sharing a cartoon my uncle sent my way. Within the cartoon a single lopsided Christmas tree stands in a field alongside many tree stumps. A thought bubble with the words, “Hey! Maybe being different is a good thing!” hangs above the lopsided tree. Inspired by the comic, I asked, “How has being different been a good thing for you?”

Answering myself, I explained, “My differences have taught me the importance of representation. Plus CP and my physical inabilities led me to writing and where I am now.” AcquiDis also answered, saying, “Difference causes the individual to reflect of their own norms whether they be in relation to disability, gender, race.”

How about you? Answer for the extend-the-conversation question, “How has being different been a good thing for you?”

Answer below in the comments. Afterwards, set a reminder to join us every Wednesday on Twitter. The fun begins at 8pm ET.

Until then, remember. Don’t blend in. Blend out!

-Zachary

The extend-the-conversation question asks, "How has being different been a good thing for you?"

#CPChatNow Recap- 12/7/22

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This past week in #CPChatNow was hopping as always. Members talked about the cold, falling and the difficulty of getting up with age, and what they want for Christmas. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap. All aboard!

First, I would like to highlight a cool thing the library Zach works at did, showcase his book Slow and Cerebral!

an image of zach posting in front of copies of his book at his library

A common topic for people with CP dominated the chat, falling and getting up. Members discussed whether they feel falls more in cold or warmer temperatures. The consensus was cold weather is worse because members feel more stiff.

zach asks if members find there's a difference falling in cold or warm weather, i tweeted that my body tends to be more sore and stiff. zach tweeted he fell during a 5k and used his friend to get up because the cold had him feeling stiff. he finished 726th out of 743.
regina tweeted she feels more stiffness with cold weather. zach asks if she has found any ways to reduce the stiffness, stating he tries stretching and exercising. she tweeted she stretches and does light exercises which help easing leg cramps.

Talk about falls continued with members discussing the difficulty of getting up as they advanced in age.

zach asked what age people started having difficulty getting up after falling. i tweet i have noticed a huge difference in the last few years. zach said he became cautious after he sprained his groin, but he's fallen a few times without complication since then.
chris tweets she has had difficulty getting up after falling and they are working on it in PT. She tweets 911 has had to be called sometimes.

Finally, talk turned to what members wanted for Christmas.

stephen asked what everyone wants for christmas, zach wants a backrest for his computer chair that gives him more support than the pillow. stepehn is getting a retro mimi fridge.

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation-Question: What is on your holiday wish list?

extend-the-conversation question graphic: what is on your holiday wishlist with picture of christmas tree in woods

Please share your answers in the comments and join us tomorrow on Twitter at 8 Eastern on #CPChatNow!

-Devin

Celebrating Nine Years of Community!

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Happy birthday to everyone in the #CPChatNow community! Saturday, December 3rd, 2022 marked nine years since our first ever Twitter chat. Hence my, #CPChatNow co-founder and co-host Zachary Fenell, reference to December 3rd as our chat’s, “birthday.” Somebody else might prefer the traditional term, “anniversary.” No matter the terminology used, you will probably agree nine years together remains an occasion to celebrate.

Such a celebration has occurred over the last month too. Despite my co-host Devin Axtman and I not getting out our weekly recaps, the chat continues to meet each Wednesday on Twitter, 8pm ET. On Wednesday, November 23rd I mentioned the upcoming nine-year milestone.

Zachary and Chris are wowed by the fact #CPChatNow has been around for nine years.

The fact nine years has passed since our community’s first chat, wowed an enthusiastic fixture in our community, Chris. Reacting to the milestone, Chris tweeted, “9!?!?! Omg! I guess it has been, but wow!” Retweeting Chris’s response, I thanked everyone who has given our community staying power. Those individuals include both long-time community members and new faces. One new face in-particular shared his own #CPChatNow milestone.

#CPChatNow celebrates Stephen's one year anniversary as part of the community.

During the chat Wednesday, November 16th Stephen reminisced about being a part of #CPChatNow for one year. Belonging to our community can prove transformative. A notion supported by conversation held during our weekly chat Wednesday, November 30th.

Zachary asks #CPChatNow participants to fill in the blank and answer, "Thanks to #CPChatNow, I am more (blank)."
Zachary and Devin discuss further ways #CPChatNow has impacted their lives.

With December 3rd approaching, I asked the community to fill in the blank and answer, “Thanks to #CPChatNow, I am more _____.” Devin replied, saying our community has made him more, “confident in my disability identity.” Devin would go on to discuss how #CPChatNow has allowed us to meet, “super cool people that have done stuff with CP,” and “meet people (with CP) all over the country and even the world.”

What about you? Keep the conversation going, and fill in the blank. “Thanks to #CPChatNow, I am more ________.” Even if you do not participate in the actual Twitter chat, feel free to answer. If you read the recaps, you are part of our community. Let us know what about the recaps keeps bringing you back.

Beyond celebrating the past nine years, our community took time to contemplate our future.

Zachary asks participants if they have any concerns about Twitter's future.

Jen answers if she has any concerns about Twitter's new ownership.

Considering Twitter serves as our main platform and 2022 saw a big change in Twitter’s ownership, on Wednesday, November 9th I asked members if anyone had concerns about the platform’s future. Both Chris and Jen expressed concern Twitter will cost money to use. Chris added he, “joined Mastodon just in case Twitter stops being free to use.”

Though, as long as Twitter stays free, you can count on joining us each and every Wednesday on the platform. The fun starts at 8pm ET. Before then, remember to answer the extend-the-conversation question, “Thanks to #CPChatNow, I am more ______.” Fill in the blank below!

Until next time, don’t blend in. Blend out!

-Zachary

Fill in the blank to answer the extend-the-conversation question, "Thanks to #CPChatNow, I am more ______."